Always loving you
by Shadows of Sorrowful Smiles
Summary: Maybe there really wasn't anything he was able to do on the battle field, but now that she's with him again, he'll do all that he can to make sure Lucy will never die again.


**I don't own Fairy Tail. Elsewise, this would be on a different site and nobody would even be reading it most likely….**

XxX

"Sometimes, Luce," Natsu sighed, lying on his back to stare at the stars that reminded him of his oh-so-favourite blonde, "sometimes when I look up, I can see you in the stars. Sometimes, I can even hear your voice. But that... That's crazy, right?"

_XxX_

_"Regulus impact!" Loki screamed, throwing the blast of magic at the enemy mage, who dodged with a nasty smirk on his face. The mage countered with a shadow spear, much like the one that had sliced through Future Lucy, and killed her. _

_Lucy shrieked, and waved the lion's key, calling him back before the blade could pierce through her spirit. _

_The celestial Mage panted in exhaustion; she'd called out Taurus, Loki, Virgo, and Aquarius, and the effect on her magical power was drastic. _

_Natsu wheeled around to strike the mage towering over his partner. _

_"Watch out, Luce," he grinned as the man wiped the blood off his mouth, glaring at Natsu in disgust. _

_"Ok," he snarled, "now I'm mad."_

_The fire mage didn't even have time to blink as the enemy shot another shadow spear out, and the spear multiplied as it flew at him. One spear hit, and crackled with electricity, causing Natsu to cry out in pain. He found himself on the ground, almost completely immobilized. _

_"Natsu!" Lucy shrilled. She darted over to stand in front of the injured mage, raising her arms as if she could possibly shield his body from any more shadow attacks. _

_The enemy mage chuckled, and another spear flew at her. The celestial wizard didn't dodge in time and it clipped her right shoulder, and Lucy gave a small screech of pain. _

_"Now, now," the enemy snickered as Lucy gathered her strength to move away at the next attack. "If you dodge this one, it's going to hit your boyfriend and it doesn't look like he's going to survive another hit."_

_The words struck Lucy almost as painfully as the spear did, and she forced herself to stay still, to continue blocking the magic until Natsu recovered enough to move away. Said mage was staring up at her, shivering, his body spasming in pain as he took in the agony she tried to hold in. _

_"L-Luce," Natsu whimpered, trying to get her to move away and spare her body. Lucy glanced down at him and struggled to curve her lips into a smile but she was in so much pain from the shadow spears, she couldn't. Natsu struggled to his feet and tried to push Lucy away so that she wouldn't get hit anymore but the enemy mage suddenly changed direction and fired off a flurry of knives at the still moving celestial mage. _

_Lucy screamed, worse than she had when Loki had been targeted and when Natsu had first fallen. The pain of the blades was worse than anything she'd ever felt before and it felt like someone was trying to climb out of her insides by tearing everything apart. _

_Natsu flinched at the sound of Lucy's raw agony and set his hand on fire, turning to the evil man who had caused them so much suffering. _

XxX

Natsu exhaled, and closed his eyes. One hand reached out, instinctively cupping around the solid stone next to him.

A few feet away, Happy slept, tail curled up around his body in an expression if one who had finally achieved peace after years of torment.

"All though, it would make sense to see you in the stars. You are a celestial mage, after all."

_XxX_

_Natsu didn't even think as he flew at the man. Somehow, the knives had multiplied just as they'd done for him, and Lucy now lay as a bloody heap on the crimson-stained ground because he wasn't fast enough to block the blades. _

_Because of his anger, his attacks were stronger, faster, but less accurate. It didn't matter too much though, seeing as Natsu used his flaming fists over again until the enemy mage was an equally crumpled and bloody pile. _

_Natsu wiped a drop of blood off his lip, turning to his partner with a gulp of fear. _

_Lucy looked just like Gray had after the dragon cannons had blasted him when he'd saved Juvia. _

_Happy staggered up to them, and Natsu realized for the first time since the battle started that he hadn't seen his exceed since it began. _

_"Lushy," the blue kitty wailed as he nuzzled her crimson streaked chest, tears already starting to collect in his eyes. _

XxX

Happy made a small purr and snuggled up to the stone that Natsu lay against. The dragon-slayer looked down at his cat in a kind of bittersweet amusement, before reaching over and softly stroking the fur below the back sack. Natsu returned his onyx gaze to the starry sky a minute later, smiling contentedly.

_XxX_

_"Lucy, stay awake. C'mon, just hang on till Wendy gets here," he begged his fallen friend. The blonde gazed at him with unfocused eyes, her lips tightening to form the slightest of smiles. Blood slowly rose out of them, bubbling up and over her lips, and down her face. _

_Natsu choked on a sob. It looked as if his beloved partner was wearing a bib of blood, an entire suit of blood, for she was entirely cloaked in the crimson life liquid. He softly tried to wipe the blood of her cheek, mixing it with the sorrowful tears that had begun to spill. _

_It wasn't long before all three of them were crying, shaking with sobs and not doing anything to hide them. _

XxX

Natsu closed his eyes, letting the silence of the night seep in, hand still stroking the fur of his sleeping cat. Footsteps sounded behind him, and he inhaled, letting the scent wash over him with a grin blooming on his face.

"Lucy."

_XxX_

_"We-Wendy is almost…almost here Luce," the fire mage cried, his fingers ablaze as he tried to make her numerous wounds feel better. _

_"I-I-I know she is," Lucy rasped. Her eyes slid shut and Natsu freaked as her chest stopped rising. _

_"Lucy! Hang on! Don't go yet!"_

_"B-Baka, I'm not going... Anywhere..." She whispered, cracking an eye open to look at her best friend. _

_Natsu was a mess. His pink hair was tinged with blood, and his vest and pants were ripped. The edges of his clothing were crisp and blackened from the electricity and his face and arms were scratched and bruised. _

_He looked like he'd tried to walk through a hurricane, a tsunami, an earthquake, the whole deal, but his eyes were filled with pain, with terror, and it was undoubtedly all her fault. _

_"Lucy-San! Natsu-san!" Wendy called, running up to them with her pigtails flowing behind her. _

_"Thank Mavis, Wendy– you've gotta help her!" The fire mage cried, pulling away from the limp blonde. Lucy slid her other eye open to glance at the expression on the young girl's face, but the only emotions showing were worry and grief. _

_That wasn't good. _

_"Hang on Lucy-san," Wendy whispered, placing her hands on Lucy's chest. A faint blue light emanated from her palm, pulsing as it entered Lucy's body._

XxX

"It's been a while," Natsu said, leaning back to smile at the figure standing in front of him. Lucy smiled softly, crouching down to sit beside him. Happy stirred and saw his favourite blonde mage next to him.

The exceed squealed and jumped onto her lap, sobbing about how much he'd missed her. Lucy laughed gently and ran her delicate hand down Happy's back, eliciting a purr from him.

Her brown eyes flashed to Natsu, who stared at her with a gloomy expression.

"Why do you take so long to visit?" He complained, reaching forward to grasp her hand.

_XxX_

_Wendy whipped around, casting an eye around for Happy. _

_"Go back to the guild!" She demanded. "Tell Master that Lucy is gravely injured and needs Porlyusica!"_

_"Aye!" Happy saluted, worry flashing in his eyes before he flew off. _

_"Can you– is Luce-— is she going to... Die?" Natsu choked, tightly hanging onto the hand of his best friend. Blood pooled beneath the three mages, and he used his free hand to wipe away tears. _

_"I—I don't know," she stuttered painfully, pressing her hands down harder. The blue light wavered, and the two held their breath. "Lucy-san..." _

_Natsu grit his teeth, focusing on the arm that was barely connected to her body; the arm whose hand held Lucy's Fairy Tail mark; the arm that Future Lucy had lost. _

_Now his Lucy was going to lose it, too. _

_He bit back a sob, and turned to look at the crumpled corpse that had done all the damage. _

_His breathing was weak and faint, more so than Lucy's, and Natsu felt a grim throb of satisfaction knowing that he was almost dead. _

_He brutally shoved his foot through the man's rib cage, snarling in hate. Natsu couldn't help it. Fury fueled his fire, blurred his vision, numbed his nerves. The bastard was already going to die, might as well make it as painful as he could. _

_"Natsu-san!" Wendy gasped. The older dragon-slayer whirled around, finding the small teen frantically pouring healing blue light into Lucy, who, by now, had stopped responding to the magic. _

_"No..."_

XxX

"I don't always have the time," Lucy responded with a soft smile. "Besides, it takes a lot of energy to go back and forth."

"Then why don't you just stay here with me and Happy?" Natsu mumbled, using her hand to pull her down next to him. Lucy chuckled warmly, laying her head against his shoulder. They gazed at the stars together, seemingly normal, seemingly perfect.

Seemingly alive.

_XxX_

"_No… she's not dead…." Natsu fell to his knees next to Wendy, reaching out for Lucy's neck. There had to be a pulse; she couldn't just die on him like that! Not after they'd been through this much together… she couldn't be…_

"_I'm so sorry, Natsu-san," Wendy whispered brokenly. No. he didn't believe it. There was no way that after all that had just happened, all that they'd done, something as stupid and chancy as a regular mission could actually…_

_Kill Lucy. _

_Natsu screamed, the grief and sorrow inside coming out in a spiral of sound as loud and terrible as a true dragon's roar._

_Trembling with emotion, he turned back to the mangled corpse responsible for Lucy's death, ready to deal out a whole lot more pain before the bastard could actually escape from the world._

_Actually…_

"_Wendy, heal him," Natsu growled. The blue-haired teen looked up at her nakama in surprise. Had he really asked her to heal the very man who had killed Lucy? "Heal his injuries, so he can wake up and I can kill him again and again."_

_She didn't doubt that he would either. It was well-known throughout the guild how strongly the rose-haired male felt for his partner, even more so now that they were actually dating, but the intensity of the pure hatred and heartbreak in his expression still surprised her._

_Wendy felt her heart harden as she looked at the dying man that was hardly more than a lump of charred meat at this point, contempt filling her at the sight of the killer. She wasn't as close to Lucy as Natsu was, nowhere near as close, but she thought she could feel the same uncontrollable urge to destroy him as Natsu did._

"_I will not touch that monster," she spat, and just tossed her healing blue light on him instead. Natsu seemed shocked by her dark tone, but as soon as the mage began to groan and sit up, he turned back and threw his foot into the mage's face with another scream of anguish._

_He was going to pay._

XxX

"You know how much I would love to stay with you two," Lucy murmured onto Natsu's shoulder, voice slightly muffled by the scarf. Natsu frowned at the remorseful tone and pulls her closer. He hasn't gotten to see her in a couple weeks, and it was clear she wouldn't be staying long by the way she was speaking. "I'd stay if I could."

Happy sniffled glumly. "You should just stay anyway. We could go fishing again, just like we used to."

Lucy rubbed her free hand (**the one that Natsu isn't strangling :3**) over the exceed's head, smiling sadly. He still didn't quite seem to understand that she _couldn't_ stay with her beloved friends, even though she truly wished that she could.

She could tell Natsu was thinking something along the same lines, as his face was contorted in the same slightly hopeful expression as Happy's. Lucy felt her heart throb. She hated that she was causing them this much sadness in her short, decreasing-in-frequency visits, but, as she reminded herself, there really was nothing that she could do to stay longer.

She told them as much. Happy drooped against her arm, looking crestfallen, and Natsu pulled her even closer to his body, if that were really possible.

"We should have never taken that mission," Natsu whispered fiercely into her hair. Lucy blinked in surprise at the sudden wet spot on her shoulder that meant the rose-haired dragon-slayer was crying and felt her heart ache again. She absolutely loathed causing him this much pain.

"I know," she said quietly.

Natsu whimpered and tightened his grip even more. "We never should have taken that mission. You never should have—"

"It's ok, Natsu," Lucy interrupted him, because they'd been through this countless times before. She kissed his cheek apologetically. "It's ok."

"_You never should have died._"

"It was inevitable."

"_I should have saved you._"

"It's not your fault."

"_You're dead."_

"And you're alive," she responded. "Live, Natsu. Live, because you can. Don't get all sad and mopey just because I'm not with you anymore."

He looked at her with pained eyes. "I don't want to live without you."

Lucy smiled and kissed him again, lingering just a few seconds, just enough so that she could feel his cheeks heat up. "Then live for me. Live the life that I never got to finish, because you get to, okay? Live for both of us."

Natsu leaned against the ghost as if she were real, wishing that the leftover essence of his most cherished person didn't have to go again. Wishing that she'd never died.

Wishing a lot of things, but like always, nothing ever came true. You can't wish upon a star if the star is dead.

"Promise me that you'll live for us both, Natsu," Lucy asked him, already standing up. He reached for her hand, terrified that she was going to leave now. His hand passed through hers and caught her gravestone instead.

"No!" he cried. "If I promise, you're going to leave me forever!" Lucy pressed her forehead to his fondly, regretfully.

"Promise me."

"No! I can't lose you again!"

"Natsu, please. You can't keep living like this," she pleaded.

Natsu lunged for her hand again, this time finding it thankfully solid, pulling it safely to his chest. "It's not living if you're not here with me."

"I'll come more often, if you promise me," Lucy begged. Natsu wailed despairingly. He couldn't let her go. She wouldn't come back next time, he knew it.

"Promise me that you'll come back," he whispered. She couldn't break a promise, and if she kept hers then he could keep his. "Promise me that this won't be the last visit. Promise me that you will never leave me again."

Lucy tensed at the pained words. She couldn't promise all that, it was only a matter of time until her remaining essence on Earthland would scatter and fade, and she'd truly be gone. But if she didn't, she would leave Natsu as this poor sobbing boy with a broken heart, tear-stained face, pleading eyes, and a cruel pining for his dead love.

"I promise," she finally said, pressing her lips to his forehead so that he couldn't see the regret in her eyes at the lie.

Natsu visibly relaxed at the two words. "Then I promise to live for you," he breathed. "I promise to love you forever and for always."

She smiled sadly against his forehead. He couldn't see it, but she was already starting to dissolve just like always. She couldn't stay in Earthland for very long before whatever was holding her ghostly essence together would dissipate, and although Natsu hadn't noticed yet, her time visiting them had been growing shorter and shorter due to the lack of essence left. Lucy would only be able to stay for an hour at most the next time she'd see the two of them, and then she would lose a handful of minutes each time after that until she'd finally be unable to return to Earthland.

"Lucy?" he could feel it now. He could feel her torn clothing begin to fade beneath his hands, could feel the body disappearing from his arms.

"I promise to love you forever and for always," she echoed, pulling away from him with a sorrowful smile.

"Don't leave me," he pleaded. "Please. Stay. For me, please, I can't have you leave ag—"

"I promised to come back, Natsu," Lucy reminded him, stepping back away to let the mist of her body dissolve into the starlight.

He grabbed for her desperately, but like before, his hands grasped empty air and he could see her apologetic smile—why were her smiles so sad now, when it was he who had lost her?—as the last thing before she finally disappeared into the starry mist.

Natsu cried out again, until his throat was raw. He missed Lucy so badly, so badly that it hurt. He slumped, dropping his teary gaze to the gravestone that marked where she was buried.

_Here lies Lucy Heartphilia,_

_X9?(_**sorry I don't know when she was born X**_)-X997_

_Beloved mage of Fairy Tail_

_Loved and cherished by her friends_

_Survived by her celestial spirits_

_We will love her forever and for always._

_**Fin~**_

**Hooooo gosh. That was surprisingly hard to write. Literally. I started this like…. Four months ago, and it was so short that… yeah.**

**mmm…. I hope you all enjoyed another little tragedy of mine… and hopefully none of you were brought to tears.**


End file.
